One of the joys of this list is the large number of transactions I've had with other members (buy, sell, and trade) without a single glitch. There seems to be a "culture" here that regards a transaction as an effort to get a "win-win" in which both sides benefit. Seems obvious, until you encounter different cultures (as, alas, sometimes on eBay).
Over the past few weeks, I had another experience that saddened me a bit. It involved a well-known and knowledgeable former member of the list, from New England. I had posted that I was looking for some esoteric parts. Some time later, FCRM (Former CR Member) wrote that he had same, and would sell. Price asked was acceptable. Conditions were unusual, in my experience: cash only, to a specific address where no one would be available to sign. I suggested some alternatives that might build a chain of custody, since the sum was not trivial. I thank Martin Hanczyk, a current listmember, for offering to carry the funds. The response from FCRM was very simple: "These are my terms."
I can think of some perfectly innocent reasons FCRM would want to do it this way (convenience for him, for example). Somehow, the "my way or the highway" correspondence leads me to think that there is a different model of transactions in FCRM's mind, something of a "conquest" or "win-lose" process. I hope I'm wrong. However, in any event, I don't do business this way. I have other ways of meeting my desires, and wish him only a bountiful crop from the seeds he sows.
Harvey Sachs
mcLean va.